Vaporizers have been in use for some time for purposes of aromatherapy or to vaporize herb medicaments. The vaporizers typically include a housing supporting a heater assembly. The heater assembly is typically mechanically affixed to the housing and hard-wired into the circuitry of the housing (such as an on/off switch and potentiometer for setting the temperature) so as to be effectively permanently mounted in the housing. Mounted over the heater assembly is a glass tubular member having one or more ports along its side and an opening at its front end to which to couple a negative source of pressure, such as a wand, air hose, or the like. As air is pulled or sucked through the wand, negative pressure is created at the front end of the glass tubular member causing air to enter into the tubular member through the port(s) and to become heated as it passes over the heater assembly therewithin. The heated air exits the glass tubular member to vaporize essential oils or herbal materials associated with the wand. In some uses, an aroma cup may be coupled to the front end of the glass tubular member, and convection current can carry heating air up through the glass tubular member along the heater assembly and into the aroma cup to vaporize essential oils, for example, that may be situated therein.
One problem that adversely affects vaporizers is that the heater assembly can fail or otherwise become damaged such that the vaporizer no longer works effectively, if at all. The vaporizer might be able to be serviced, which involves opening up the vaporizer to gain access to the heater assembly, removing the glass tubular member, and undertaking the work using the proper tool to disconnect the heater assembly, mechanically and electrically, from the housing. A new heater assembly must then be installed and secured in the housing with the proper tools so as to be effectively permanently mounted thereto, and the housing closed up and the glass tubular member reinstalled. That type of repair is time consuming and costly, and is often best left to qualified technicians. Rather than deal with the time, cost, and frustration of seeking service for the vaporizer unit, many users may simply dispose of the vaporizer, perhaps buying a new one. That approach is wasteful and can be costly.